It was an extremely serious matter, he said, and he found their behaviour quite inexplicable.

“Why two men should set upon a completely blameless middle aged man and give him the hiding that they did, is beyond belief,” he said.

Dewhurst, 27, of Y Gorlan, Rhyl, had a job and no previous convictions for violence, but Binnie’s history was a different story, with previous convictions for violence, including using a piece of wood as a weapon.

Dewhurst was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 28 months, 200 hours of unpaid community work and 40 days of rehabilitation.

But Binnie, of was jailed for 15 months.

The court heard Mr Jones said he could not understand why he had been attacked and was now anxious when he went out.